Bulgaria will open a Trade office in Iraq "The successful work of the 25th session of the Joint Bulgarian- Iraqi Committee for trade, economic and technical cooperation is a clear sign that both sides start a new path blazed by the friendship between the two nations." This said the Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev the at signing of the Agreement on economic and scientific cooperation between the Governments of Bulgaria and Iraq. The document was signed also by the Minister of Trade of the Arab country Khairullah Babakir. The agreement is an expression of the desire of both sides to give impetus to trade and economic relations and the need to update the normative- legal base for business contacts between them after the changes in Iraq and the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union with its huge market.

"An undisputed success of our collaboration was the decision to create a Bulgarian- Iraqi Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation. It will assist the institution's and businesses assets from both countries to expand and deepen mutually beneficial partnership in industry, agriculture, construction, energy, science and development, telecommunications, transport and logistics, tourism, investment, education, technology and more", said Stoynev. "One of our main goals is the economization of our foreign policy. The activities of the Joint Committee are an important tool to increase our exports to Iraq and the Middle East. To fulfill this intention the opening of Bulgarian Trade office in Iraq", he said. "We believe this will significantly stimulate the contacts between Bulgarian and Iraqi companies to avoid the practice of appreciation of Bulgarian production by the presence of firms from third countries." Among the most promising products for export to this region are Bulgarian fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronic equipment, products of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, light industry goods and more. The Bulgarian Minister added that the agreement identifies specific measures for direct exchange of business information, a participation in international exhibitions, activating the role of small and medium-sized companies, closer links between financial institutions and banks.

"Our aim is to develop the relations between the two countries as before, dating back many years," said the Minister of of Industry and Mineral Resources of Iraq Ahmed Delhi after the signing. He emphasized that there is still a lot of work, but predicted that the convening of the next 26th session of the Committee in Baghdad will be done over 70% of what was spoken in Sofia. Iraq is a promising destination for investment and the mutual exchange was one of the highlights of the work of the session.

Source: Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria